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FIRST PITCH
After picking up their first Big Sky Conference series win 2-1 over Northern Colorado, the Portland State softball team will play five games this week, beginning with a doubleheader against undefeated No. 1 Oregon Tuesday night in Eugene. Game one against the Ducks is slated for 5 p.m. PT.
Portland State will then return home for a pivotal Big Sky series against the Southern Utah Thunderbird beginning Friday, April 7 at the Gordon Faber Recreation Complex in Hillsboro. Friday's doubleheader is set for a 1 p.m. first pitch. The series finale is slated for 12 p.m. on Saturday.
Despite being just two weeks into league play, Portland State hosts Southern Utah for a key series. The Vikings and Thunderbirds are tied for fourth in conference play with Identical 3-3 record. A series win over Southern Utah would go a long way in securing a 2017 Big Sky Softball Championship for the Vikings.
ONLINE: Live stats will be available for all three games against the Thunderbirds. Links are available on GoViks.com.
LIVE VIDEO: A live video stream will be available for all home games played on Gordon Faber Field 4. If games are moved to the turf field due to weather, a video stream will be unavailable. Links are available on GoViks.com.
SOCIAL MEDIA: Stay informed with Portland State Softball on social media. See below for everything related to Portland State Softball.
• Twitter - @PortlandStateSB
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SENIOR CAMPAIGN
Senior IF
Shae Nelson continues to thrive in her final season at Portland State. She leads the team, and is fourth in the Big Sky Conference with a .402 batting average. She is tied for the conference lead with 10 hits during league action. She leads the team in runs scored (12) and doubles (6). Her batting average, slugging percentage (.476), and on-base percentage (.456) are all career highs.
GOING STREAKING
Shae Nelson is currently on a season-high five-game hitting streak. Over the last five games she is hitting .556 (10-for-18) with a team-high 10 hits. She has three runs scored, a double, and three RBIs over that stretch. She has also played a perfect third base over the last five with nine putouts and seven assists.
SERIES WIN
Portland State picked up its first Big Sky series win of the season, taking 2-of-3 from the Northern Colorado Bears at home last weekend. The Vikings hit .290 as a team against the bears but the big story was the Vikings' pitching staff. Freshman
Emma Detamore and Sophomore
Alyssa Burk combined for a 1.84 ERA over the three games, allowing just five earned runs over 19.0 innings pitched. Detamore recorded her first complete-game shutout and tallied a career-high nine strikeouts in the series opener. Burk followed with a complete game win of her own in game two to take the series.
VIKINGS FINDING THEIR STROKE
Portland State's offense struggled early on this season. The Vikings hit just .200 (47-for-235) over their first 10 games of the year with just one double-digit hitting game. Since, PSU is hitting .314 with seven double-digit hitting games. The Vikings have tallied double-digit hits in five of their last eight games.
LEADING THE BIG SKY
Through two weeks of league action, Portland State leads the Big Sky with a .331 batting average. Senior IF
Shae Nelson is sixth in the Big Sky with a .476 batting average in conference play.
4 FOR SHAE
Senior IF
Shae Nelson posted the team's first four-hit game of the season, going a perfect 4-for-4 with a double, two runs scored, and a run batted in against Seton Hall. She added her second four-hit game of the year, going 4-for-4 with a run scored and two driven in against Northern Colorado (3/31).
FIRST WIN
Portland State picked up its first win of the season with a 4-3 win over Rhode Island in the final game of the GCU Invitational on Feb. 26 in Phoenix, Ariz. Not only did the Vikings get their first win of the year, but it was the first NCAA Division I win for first-year Head Coach
Meadow McWhorter.
YOUNG SQUAD
Portland State added 11 freshman to the roster heading into the season. The 11-member freshman class is tied for the largest in the country this year.
UP NEXT
After Portland State's games against No. 1 Oregon and Southern Utah this week, the Vikings will hit the road next week for a three-game series at Weber State (April 14-15).
#1 OREGON DUCKS
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Team: Oregon is the only team in the nation left undefeated this season with a perfect 33-0 record. The Ducks are ranked No. 1 in the ESPN.com/USA Softball poll but are ranked No. 3 in the USA Today/NFCA Coaches Poll. Oregon is second in the nation with a .362 team batting average. The Ducks' 1.07 team ERA is fourth in the nation.
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Hitting: Alexis Mack is one of four players hitting over .400 for the Ducks. She is hitting a team-high .472 on the season with 42 hits, 30 run scored, and 12 runs batted in. Nikkie Udria leads the team with seven home runs and 34 RBIs, while hitting .444.
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Pitching: Maggie Balint is 16-0 on the year with an 0.86 ERA over 81 1/3 innings pitched. Opponents are hitting just .169 against her with 112 strikeouts.
ALL-TIME vs. OREGON: Oregon Leads the all-time series 110-49-1, dating back to the 1977 season. Portland State's last win was a 4-1 road win on May 5, 2010.
SOUTHERN UTAH THUNDERBIRDS
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Team: Southern Utah is 7-19 overall this season and 3-3 in Big Sky play. The Thunderbirds are 1-4 on the road and 3-7 in their last 10 games. The T-Birds opened league play with a 2-1 series win over Northern Colorado. They picked up a 2-0 win over Montana to open the series last weekend before dropping the next two. SUU is hitting .265 as a team on the year and has been outscored 167-to-91. The Thunderbirds have committed 32 errors on the year, which has led to 29 unearned runs.
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Hitting: Kendall Kapitzke leads the team with a .324 batting average. She has scored 15 runs and leads the team with seven doubles, six home runs, and 18 RBIs. Sarah Murphy is hitting .307 with 14 runs scored and is 7-for-8 in stolen bases this season. Morgan Leonard is hitting .302 and is tied with Kapitzke with 18 RBIs.
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Pitching: Southern Utah has thrown five pitchers this season with Hanna Wynn and Kirsten Hostetler throwing the majority of innings. Wynn is 2-5 with a team-best 4.75 ERA over 48 2/3 innings. She has struck out 20 batters on the year and opponents are hitting .333 off her. Hostetler is 4-5 on the year with a 5.21 ERA over 48 1/3 innings. She has allowed 71 hits, walked 19 and struck out 11.
vs. SOUTHERN UTAH
All-Time: Portland State leads the all-time series 19-11 dating back to the 1990 season. Portland State is 7-3 at home in the series and 4-6 in the last 10.
Last Season: Portland State took the series 2-1 in Cedar City. SUU took the first game by a score of 8-2 before the Vikings evened the series with a 7-4 victory in game two. The Vikings then took the rubber-match, 10-2 in six innings, to take the series.
SheaLee Lindsey went 7-for-9 with a double and two runs scored to lead the Vikings at the plate.
Kortney Craker went 5-for-11 with four runs scored, a home run, and three RBIs.
Alyssa Burk went 1-0 in two starts last season against SUU with a 4.20 ERA. She allowed five earned on 12 hits over 8 1/3 innings.
